Battle for Soul of Sanctuary City-Due Process for Immigrants
February 24, 2017
Attorney and Social Justice Advocate, Jacq Wilson, makes heartfelt plea to
Supervisors of San Francisco and its citizens not to lose the soul of the City.
"When we don't provide legal representation, due process, and fundamental rights to the least of us (the poor, the immigrant, and the vulnerable), we will wake up one day and find out that these sacred rights are no longer available to protect us all.
Simply put, when you protect the poor, the immigrant, and the vulnerable with legal representation,
due process, and constitutional rights you protect us all.
February 24, 2017 Via Email
Good afternoon family, friends, and team:
As many of you are aware, several night’s ago I attended the “Resisting Mass Deportation: A community Forum" in San Francisco, California. The event was very informative, empowering, and inspiring. The theme of the night was that people (immigrants) detained need legal representation. The battle cry was that this "due process" movement is the battle for the "Soul of America". I write to each of you to tell you that there is a “fierce urgency of now” and we all need to join this new “due process” movement. Each of us needs to support "deportation defense".
I attached and included a letter in this email that I sent to the Supervisor's in support of "deportation defense".
If you live in San Francisco, in California, or in this world, contact the Major or the Supervisors of San Francisco and let them know that you urge them to fully fund the deportation defense unit of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office. You may also send your letter to Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244, San Francisco, CA 94102.
In case you missed the forum, I have attached a video link to it as well as a article that appeared in the San Francisco chronicle the following day describing the event.
February 23, 2017
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
San Francisco City Hall,
1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, CA 94102
Re: Fully Fund the Public Defender’s Deportation Defense Unit
Dear Supervisor Cohen, Tang, and Yee,
“Something has happened [in this country] upon which it is difficult to speak and impossible to be silent.” -- Edmund Burke
In America, in 2017, people are being detained, interrogated, and deported without access to counsel and due process. Am I dreaming? Is this really happening? Or will I awaken soon and find that what is currently happening in the country was a horrible nightmare and that it never happened.
Last night’s “Resisting Mass Deportation: A community Forum" was very informative, empowering, and inspiring. The theme of the night was that people (immigrants) detained need legal representation. The battle cry was that this "due process" movement is the battle for the "Soul of America". I write to each of you to tell you that there is a “fierce urgency of now” and we all need to join this new “due process” movement. Each of us needs to support "deportation defense".
In this great country isn’t it wonderful to know that we are all presumed innocent until proven guilty and that we have constitutional guarantees of due process of law, found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment. It's the American way of justice, and what I believe as a member of the California Bar. Unfortunately, innocent people are being caught up in the deportation net, snatched from their families, and sent back to their home country without any legal representation and due process. This is not the American way, and it is unfair, unjust, and inhumane, as the constitutional guarantee of due process holds that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law."
I realize that some of you may be saying, “Why should I/we concern ourselves with this problem?” I realize that each of you have a million other important things going on in your lives, and that this issue may not be dear to you, but, as your neighbor, I would still like to answer this question for you from the human heart.
Two thousand years ago a great man walked the Earth and he made poor people, vulnerable people, and sinners’ problems his own. This great man taught that “you should love your neighbor as yourself”. More recently, another great teacher taught that “an injustice to one is an injustice to all”. What these two remarkable men had in common is that they each realized that we should be as careful with our neighbor’s life as we are with our own. We all belong to each other and there is but one human family.
Each of us needs to begin to love others as ourselves, threat others as ourselves, and see others as ourselves, as many of us have been taught.
Remember, justice is in our hands, and we are all at the mercy of one another; we are all in the business of living together; and our security, our lives, and our pursuit of happiness are only as secure as our neighbors will make them. When we don't provide legal representation, due process, and fundamental rights to the least of us (the poor, the immigrant, and the vulnerable), we will wake up one day and find out that these sacred rights are no longer available to protect us all. Simply put, when you protect the poor, the immigrant, and the vulnerable with legal representation, due process, and constitutional rights you protect us all.
In our democracy, at least as I have been led to believe, the most vulnerable person (the undocumented immigrant) has the same right to live as the best, and the law is supposed to protect everyone who is being deprived of fundamental rights with due process.
The American courtroom by way of our Constitution and our fundamental rights is the great leveler. It is the only place in this country and in the world where the most loathsome person (the undocumented criminal immigrant) is to be treated the equal of the richest billionaire real-estate investor. I trust that good people, like you, will wake up and realize the principals that have truly made OUR country great for decades. We all need to fight for the poor, the powerless, and those who cannot fight for themselves. That is what has always made this country great and what will make us great again.
Finally, as a civil attorney, I realize that justice doesn't come cheap, easy, or overnight, but here is the great news:
“The public defender can minimize expenses by handling multiple cases at once, handling more cases per attorney, and attracting seasoned hires with the experience and capacity to handle complex cases immediately, which is why I fully support the proposal to fund the San Francisco Public Defender's Office to provide detained removal defense to non-citizens facing deportation”.
I fully support the proposal to fund the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office to provide detained removal defense to non-citizens facing deportation.
Thank you for joining this “due process” movement, for assuring that immigrant detainees have access to counsel and due process, and for being the change you hope to create.
Your friend/advocate,
ALLAN M. SCHUMAN & ASSOCIATES
Jacq M. Wilson, Esq.
cc: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office
Jacq M. Wilson, Esq.
ADVOCATES FOR JUSTICE
2165 Filbert Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 563-2111 - phone
(415) 673-0900 - fax
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